Take your own pulse

For, no particular reason, I was reminded of House of God today. Why do people like that book so much? I feel it’s less insightful than people give it credit for. I read about 2/3 of it five or ten years ago.
“The patient is the one with the disease.” That’s great. I was never worried that I had any disease. My problem, as a resident, is that my patients have diseases which I don’t know how to treat.
“The first thing to do in a crisis is, take your own pulse.” 180. Great, now what?
I will eventually write my own memoir reflecting on my residency years. Maybe with this blog, I can generate some buzz around its release. Plan for it to come out somewhere around 2018.

4 responses to “Take your own pulse”

I read it in first year because it is one of those “classics” that you “have” to read. The quotes are good ones, but a lot of it does not apply to medical culture nowadays (not necessarily the burnout, more the lack of DNRs etc). I’m still glad I read it but have disagreed with people who tell you that it is a “guide”.

I absolutely L o v e d that book and loved the sequel even more…probably because i have, ah, some things in common with it….? Uh-oh, too much info. ;) Ummmmm, i thought “H of G” was supposed to be part realism, part cynical….but “Mount Misery” seems to have more realism…and it’s funny…to me.
LOL….verification “pinups”